liverpoolfcfandomcom-20200223-history
Jay Spearing
Jay Francis Spearing (born 25 November 1988) is an English footballer who played for Liverpool from 2008 until 2013. Liverpool career Spearing- a defensive midfielder- is a product of the Liverpool youth system. He captained the Liverpool Under 18s side that won the 2007 Youth FA Cup. He was promoted to Melwood in 2007 to train with the first team. He was a part of the Reserve team who won the 2007-2008 Premier Reserve League. Spearing made his first team debut on 9 December 2008 as a substitute in the Champions League group stage win against PSV Eindhoven. He made his first start for Liverpool on 22 September 2009 against Leeds United in the third round of the League Cup. His Premier League debut came against Sunderland on 17 October 2009 coming in as a substitute for Javier Mascherano. On 6 July 2009 Spearing was offered a new 3 year contract by then manager Rafael Benitez. He spent one spell away from Anfield- on loan to Championship side Leicester City- during his early senior career. The loan started on 22 March 2010 and lasted for the remainder of the 2009-10 season. Spearing made the first team much more often during the latter half of the 2010-11 season due to the number of injured players in Liverpool's midfield. His performances were impressive as he and Lucas Leiva formed a good midfield partnership, both producing a high rate of tackling that helped shield Liverpool's backline. He was offered another new contract by manager Kenny Dalglish in May of 2011. On 8 July 2011, following the signing of Charlie Adam, Spearing gave up his number 26 jersey to Adam and picked up shirt number 20 instead. Spearing began the season struggling for game time, however following a season-ending injury to Lucas on 29 November 2011 in a game against Chelsea, Spearing made his first League start. His comeback came against Fulham on 5 December 2011, but he was sent off in the 72nd minute for a foul on Moussa Dembele. Spearing however largely retained his spot in the starting XI for the rest of the season as Liverpool's only other defensively-minded midfielder. He did however come under criticism for a general lack of quality as Liverpool's season faltered in the new year. In particular, it became apparent that Spearing struggled to perform the defensive midfield role on his own without Lucas as a partner. Despite this, Spearing started the 2012 FA Cup Final at Wembley against Chelsea, however he failed to cope in the battle with Chelsea's midfield and was substituted for Andy Carroll early in he second half. With new manager Brendan Rodgers bolstering Liverpool's midfield options in the summer of 2012 with the additions of Joe Allen and Nuri Sahin, it became apparent that Spearing was surpluss to requirements at the club. On 31 August 2012, it was announced that Spearing had completed a season-long loan to Bolton Wanderers. It is thought the club preferred to sell Spearing on a permanent deal, but Spearing rejected such a move as he still wished to prove he had a future as a Liverpool player. After a successful loan spell in which Spearing was voted Bolton's player of the season, he returned to play a part in Liverpool's 2013-14 pre-season before departing the club on 9 August 2013. He sealed a move back to Bolton for a fee in the region of £1,750,000. He also had an offer from Blackburn on the table, however Spearing held out for a move back to the Reebok. Honours Liverpool *Premier Reserve League: 1 (2007/08) *FA Youth Cup: 2 (2005/06, 2006/07) *League Cup: 1 (2012) Stats Notes *Aged 20, Spearing appeared on the Liverpool F.C. official site in the June 2009 edition of an article series called "One to Watch," which outlined five very gifted young players from Liverpool's academy. External links * *Jay Spearing's profile on liverpoolfc.com * Spearing Spearing